Pigs

Pigs are social1 and intelligent2 animals, who naturally live in family groups3 and are arguably smarter than dogs.4 Yet on factory farms, these sentient beings are treated like machines on a production line.

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Pigs are social1 and intelligent2 animals, who naturally live in family groups3 and are arguably smarter than dogs4. Yet on factory farms, these sentient beings are treated like machines on a production line.

Pregnancy hell

In Australia, pregnant pigs are permitted by law to spend a significant portion of their lives confined to sow stalls.5 These are small metal and concrete cages that are barely larger than the mother pig’s body; restricting her so she can’t even turn around.6

The science tells us that sow stalls cause serious physical and psychological harm to pregnant pigs.7 Despite this, these devices are commonly used on factory farms as a way of keeping the cost of producing pig meat low by simplifying farm management and maximising the number of pigs that can be kept in a given area.8

Permanent confinement within sow stalls can frustrate many of a pig’s natural behaviours like exploring and socialising with other pigs,9 and can inflict skin abrasions when sows press up against the metal bars.10 Sow stalls often lead to serious health problems, including reduced bone strength and muscle weight,11 impaired locomotion and severe lameness.12

To give birth, sows are confined even more restrictively in a ‘farrowing crate’ that barely allows them to move. Piglets are taken away from their mothers prematurely; a stressful experience that causes a high incidence of clinical disease and diarrhoea.13 The confinement which sows experience in farrowing crates not only restricts their movement but also frustrates the natural nesting behaviours they experience before giving birth.14

Sadly, even once a mother pig has given birth to her piglets, there is no relief. Over the course of their lives, factory farmed sows are repeatedly impregnated until they can no longer produce enough piglets and then they are slaughtered.15 Termed ‘reproductive failure’ by industry, this is the largest single reason for sows to be killed. On average, Australian sows carry four pregnancies over the course of two years before they are killed for their lack of productivity.16

The role of industry

A wealth of scientific evidence suggests sow stalls are bad for pig welfare, yet Australian Pork Limited (APL), the peak pork industry body, continues to claim that “stalls are good for newly pregnant pigs, and that pigs prefer them”.17

In 2010, despite their position that “sow stalls are a welfare benefit” for sows,18 APL announced it would “commit to pursuing the voluntary phasing out of the use of sow stalls by 2017”.19

While seemingly positive, this ‘ban’ on the use of stalls is totally inadequate for two reasons. First, it is in no way binding on individual pork producers. If a producer refuses to get rid of sow stalls by 2017, APL is only able to revoke that producer’s membership. APL cannot enforce the ban and there would be no legal repercussions for the producer. This suggests that an actual voluntary industry-wide ban is unlikely to be successful.

Secondly, APL’s definition of “gestation stall free” does not mean what it says. According to APL, “gestation stall free” means “that a sow will only spend up to 5 days in a mating stall, to stabilise pregnancy and then later be moved into a farrowing crate or birthing stall, up to a week before she is due to give birth.”20 It does not mean that sows will spend no time in a stall.

This slippery definition caught the attention of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission who has encouraged APL to correct the “sow stall free” claim on the grounds that it is misleading and deceptive.21

Lagging behind the rest of the world

As other countries take steps to legislate a complete ban on sow stalls, Australia is lagging shamefully behind. 82% of Australians agree that sow stalls should be banned,22 yet the use of these cruel devices is still permitted. Lack of clear industry data – facilitated by APL’s definition of “sow stall free” - prevents the public from knowing the exact number of sows locked up in stalls or the period of their confinement.

We do know that sow stalls have already been banned in the United Kingdom23 and Sweden24 with New Zealand to follow from 2015.25 Switzerland,26 The Netherlands27 and Finland28 have each implemented partial bans and nine US States have also passed legislation to, at least partially, ban sow stalls.29

Here in Australia, major retailer Coles’ own brand pork products have been sow stall free since 2013,30 while Woolworths has also committed to sourcing all of its fresh pork meat from farms that only use stalls for less than 10% of the sows’ gestation period.31

To date, the ACT32 and Tasmania33 are the only jurisdictions to have taken action to prohibit or restrict the use of sow stalls through law reforms.

Piglets and porkers

Not long after birth, male piglets are routinely castrated without pain relief, a practise so painful that it can provoke trembling and vomiting.34 Piglets’ teeth are often clipped without anaesthetic and this can cause up to 15 days of extreme pain.35

The pigs who are raised for their meat on factory farms, known as ‘porkers’, generally spend their whole lives indoors. Porkers are housed in crowded, concrete-floored pens with no natural materials. Research shows that some factory farmed pigs suffer prolonged depression because they are denied natural light, space and the opportunity to forage for food in natural surroundings.36

For many of these pigs, the trip to the slaughterhouse is their only chance to experience life outdoors and to feel the wind and the sun.

It’s time for action

It is now time for the Australian Government to act and introduce better legal protections for pigs raised for food. The Commonwealth government must revise the Pig Code to prohibit the use of sow stalls and farrowing crates and the permanent confinement of porkers, moves which must then be reflected by the introduction or amendment of legislation by state governments.

5. With the exception of the ACT, all Australian jurisdictions permit sows to be confined in sow stalls and farrowing crates, either permanently, or for a significant portion of their gestation period.

6. The current permitted dimensions of sow stalls are 2.2 metres by 0.6 metres for new installations: See Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals – Pigs, Third Edition, 23.

16. Marchant-Forde and Broom, above n 11; P E Hughes et al, ‘Relationships among gilt and sow live weight, P2 backfat depth, and culling rates’ (2010) 18 Journal of Swine Health Production 301-305. Hughes et al (2010) noted, based on APL figures, that the average sow replacement rate in Australia is 61% each year, while sows were culled after 4.1 parities (that is, at just under 2 years of age), on average. These authors also remark that reproductive failure is the largest single cause for culling sows. The situation appears similar in the US, where a sow’s average lifespan is about 3.5 pregnancies: Marchant-Forde (2009) 130.